Delve into the musings of an indie designer, travel aficionado, musically inclined art fan. Find out about the inner workings of an indie fashion designer's life. What's going on in my studio, how to's, DIY, sales, art events and more!

Northfield, MN - December, 10, 2010 - Lisa Emery of Lisa's Alterations & Tailoring has served the Northfield area out of her home for many years. Now located on the corner of Division St. and 5th St., 500 Division St. S. (the former Downtown Dancewear store) is home to both Lisa's Alterations & Tailoring and Buttons, Bows & Baby Doll Clothes. This holiday season owners Emery and Eileen Seeley have invited Designer, Virginia E. Berry of YazBerry Handmade Fashion to showcase her clothing and accessories line. Emery, Seeley and Berry all offer green products and services to diverse clientele.

Emery has been a Seamstress and Tailor for many years in Northfield. She ran her workshop out of her home until three months ago when she opened up shop on Division St. in Northfield at The Shops at 500 Division St. S. location. Emery's service of alterations and tailoring allows customers to give a second life to their clothing, stretch those wardrobe pennies a little further and obtain garments that fit properly that may otherwise end up in the donation piles; a frugal and green option.

Seeley is a Jane of many trades and has put her skills to work designing and sewing handmade doll clothes for American Girl and Bitty Baby sized dolls, 15" - 18" tall. The clothes are often made from scraps of fabric used in other projects, fabric that makes its way to her through many channels and is recycled into beautiful, heirloom quality doll clothing.

Both little girls and grandmas enjoy browsing the racks in Buttons, Bows and Baby Doll Clothes. By recycling scraps of fabric, Seeley is creating green toys for children and keeping textile waste out of the landfills. She mixes recycled fabrics, scrap fabrics and new fabrics to create the doll clothes. Also available are handmade dresses by another Seamstress out of Farmington, and specialty manufactured shoes and career wear such as nurses’ uniforms.

During the recent Winter Walk event in Downtown Northfield, Emery & Seeley invited Northfield native, Virginia E. Berry to display her handmade, artist made clothing, purses and jewelry. Berry has an independent design label which she sells predominantly online, YazBerry Fashion. Her full collection is available on www.yazberryfashion.etsy.com, her shop on the online marketplace, Etsy.com.

Berry also works with recycled and repurposed materials. Many of her pieces include recycled textiles, found objects and vintage items mixed with new components. Berry considers her green creations "sustainable fashion"; by reusing and giving a second life to materials, they are kept out of the dumps and don't require the need to manufacture new materials, depleting our available resources and often adding to the pollution problems.

Emery and Seeley have invited Berry to showcase her designs throughout December. Be sure to stop in to see what shopping local and shopping green looks like in The Shops at 500 Division St. S., Northfield, MN. Don’t be confused by the pink walls, these ladies are green and armed with sewing machines.